Higher education improves the lives of Texans. This new higher education plan, 60x30TX, focuses on the common goal by striving for 60 percent of the 25- to 34-year-old Texas population to hold a certificate or degree by 2030. The plan seeks to increase student success through the combined expertise and resources of many stakeholders. Because of these collaborative efforts, Texas institutions of higher education will have more opportunities to grow, which will enrich students and the state. The 60x30TX ("60 by 30 Tex") higher education strategic plan contains four broad goals presented in this report: (1) 60x30: By 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a certificate or degree; (2) Completion: By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor's, or master's from an institution of higher education in Texas; (3) Marketable Skills: By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills; and (4) Student Debt: By 2030, undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wages for graduates of Texas public institutions. Each goal contains a set of targets that will move the state toward reaching one or more goals. Many stakeholders across Texas will need to develop and implement a wide range of strategies to meet each target. The following are appended: (1) History of the Texas Higher Education Strategic Planning Committee for the 60x30TX Plan; and (2) Glossary.

In January 2012, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reclassified Texas State University as an Emerging Research University. In light of its new classification, the university has developed a long-term strategic plan to accomplish two goals: (1) achieving eligiblity to receive National Research University Funding and (2) achieving recognition as a Research University.

Texas launched its ambitious strategic plan for higher education, "Closing the Gaps by 2015," in the year 2000 to create a statewide vision for closing the higher education gaps within Texas and between Texas and other leading states. The plan focuses on bringing Texas to national parity in four critical areas of higher education: participation, success, excellence, and research. This statewide strategic plan is one of the first of its kind, and has been widely embraced by education, business, political, and community stakeholders across Texas. "Closing the Gaps" sets specific statewide goals in increasing participation in higher education, increasing success (i.e., certificates, undergraduate degrees, and other identifiable student successes from high quality programs), increasing the number of nationally recognized programs or services at colleges and universities in Texas, and increasing the level of federal science and engineering research and development obligations to Texas. Over the past ten years Texas has reached many significant milestones in "Closing the Gaps" but achieving 2015 goals will require additional efforts and focus by all stakeholders. Reaching the goals of "Closing the Gaps" will be a significant accomplishment for Texas. Gains in higher education have the potential to strengthen Texas' economic base, attract innovative businesses and top-flight faculty to the state, generate research funding, improve quality of life, and enhance the overall stature of the state. Achieving the "Closing the Gaps" goals by 2015 is within reach. However, significant gains are needed on several important goal areas where progress is lagging behind targets. In order to reinforce the statewide vision put forth in "Closing the Gaps" and move Texas aggressively toward the 2015 goals, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Coordinating Board) has developed this "Accelerated Plan for Closing the Gaps by 2015." This plan heightens the agency's focus on four areas where Texas is behind its 2015 targets and highlights strategies that increase the pace of Texas' gains in these critical areas; based on recent years' momentum toward achieving participation goals, the accelerated plan is weighted toward strategies to increase success (i.e., certificate/degree/program completion) for students across Texas. Appended to this report is an overview of the Coordinating Board Strategic Planning Process and a list of stakeholders engaged in the strategic planning process. (Contains 3 tables and 6 footnotes.).

Texas’s 60x30TX strategic plan and RAND researchers’ analysis of labor market projections point to a continuation of strong growth in graduate education in the state. To examine issues related to graduate education in Texas, the College for All Texans Foundation asked RAND to assess Texas’s need to expand graduate degree production. This document is the executive summary for RR-1899-CFAT, Managing the Expansion of Graduate Education in Texas, which should help the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), higher education systems, and individual higher education institutions in Texas assess the need to expand their master’s, doctoral, and professional programs, and may be useful in framing issues that THECB should address in developing a strategic plan to align graduate education in the state with the goals of the 60x30TX strategic plan. To be competitive, Texas needs to compare favorably with other states and countries. The number of research universities in Texas is increasing rapidly, but too few of these institutions are ranked at the highest levels internationally. Texas’s institutions also do not attract the same share of federal research and development funding as other states, especially California. To further increase the competitiveness of its universities, Texas will likely need to make additional public investments in research capacity for institutions at several stages of development. Generally, Texas has been increasing its production of graduate degrees in fields corresponding to the occupational groups that are expected to have the most job openings: business, healthcare, education, computers, and engineering. However, because growth in graduate engineering degrees has been slow compared with other states and with projected demand, THECB and institutions should consider expanding graduate programs in engineering. In addition, greater efforts should be made to recruit domestic students and provide adequate financial support to motivate those with a bachelor’s degree to pursue graduate education. Finally, as Texas explores ways to increase graduate education production, new programs will likely be necessary in addition to increasing enrollments in existing programs.